Olivia
‘We can’t have you sleeping in that, it will only make you feel worse,’ she huffed, stripping the sweaty sheets and handing them to the woman. ‘I’d wash these on a very
high temperature, if I were you. Oh, and is there a kitchen I can use to make tea?’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘Good, now get into bed. I’m going to put the kettle on, and while it’s boiling, I’m going to clean that bathroom of yours.’
Olivia’s stomach dropped in horror. ‘No! Surely one of the cleaners could do that?’
‘They could, yes, but they work hard enough as it is. And besides, it won’t take me two seconds.’
‘Tracey, please don’t.’
‘Why not? You think, as a mother of four daughters, I haven’t dealt with my fair share of bodily fluids?’ She stood, hands on hips, glaring at Olivia like a custard-covered bulldog. ‘Jesus, when they were all under six, there wasn’t a piece of me that wasn’t covered in some form of excrement.’
Olivia tried not to gag at the very disturbing image now planted in her head.
‘Not that that’s a thought you want to be having with an iffy stomach, but you get my drift.’ Tracey patted the edge of the mattress. ‘Now, bed, please, or I’ll have to use brute force, and we both know I’d crush you like a flea.’
Maybe it was delirium setting in, or the idea of Tracey wrestling Olivia dressed as a human banana, but Olivia did as she was told and nestled down under the covers.
‘Fine, but I’m not happy about this,’ she grunted petulantly, breathing in the clean smell of the freshly laundered sheets.
‘I’m sure you’re not’ – Tracey rummaged in one of the shopping bags and pulled out a pair of rubber gloves and a bottle of bleach – ‘but you’re going to have to deal with it.
So buckle up and get comfy, kid, because it’s time you got a little TWC.’
‘Don’t you mean TLC?’
‘Nope, I mean TWC.’ She snapped the gloves over her hands and grinned. ‘You’re getting yourself some extra special Tracey Warwick Care.’
And care it certainly was. After cleaning the bathroom, Tracey had appeared with a tray full of goodies from the kitchen. There was fresh mint and ginger tea, some porridge, a pile of dry toast and …
‘Oh my god,’ Olivia gasped, looking down at the little bowl of mush.
‘What’s up, kiddo?’
‘Nothing, it’s just …’ She pulled it towards her. ‘Is this mashed-up banana?’
‘With milk and a bit of sugar, you got it! My girls used to go mad for this stuff.’
‘My sister did too.’
‘Oh, really?’
‘Yeah.’ The memory struck deep, and Olivia gripped the bowl harder.
‘Well then, I’m glad it wasn’t just my family who were a bunch of weirdos when it came to food.
’ Tracey came to perch on the edge of the bed.
‘Oh, you should have seen some of the concoctions they would make. Harry always said I indulged them too much, let them play with their food rather than eat it. Silly bastard – always got so worked up over things. But I guess you can’t blame the guy for being on edge, living with five women.
It takes a certain type of person to do that, I can tell you. ’
‘Is Harry your husband?’
‘Was.’ Tracey paused, paying a bit too much attention to the corner of Olivia’s duvet cover. ‘Until he went and died on me last year.’
Olivia stopped with her spoon halfway to her mouth.
‘I’m so sorry.’ And she genuinely was. ‘How long were you together?’
‘Thirty-five years. We survived four kids, five house moves and one triple bypass, and then he goes and chokes on a cashew nut and pops his clogs. What an idiot! Couldn’t believe it when I got the phone call.’
‘A cashew nut?’ Olivia tried not to let her disbelief detract from the seriousness of the conversation.
‘I know! Who would have thought such a tiny thing could kill a big old slab of meat like my Harry. But life is full of surprises, isn’t it?’
‘That must have been quite a shock,’ Olivia whispered. ‘Again, I’m so sorry.’
‘Nah, you’re all right, kid. He had a good life.
I mean, he was married to me, so some would say he was the luckiest man in the world!
’ She chuckled, a note of sadness breaking through the bravado.
‘But yeah, after he passed, I told my girls … I said, I need to get away. I need to explore, clear my head, be somewhere nobody knows me. Where I don’t have to act a certain way or be a certain person. ’
Olivia stared at the bowl of banana.
Is that what you wanted for me, Leah?
Is that why you sent me here?
‘So I came here, and guess what, it’s worked a treat!’
Olivia eyed Tracey as she slurped loudly on her tea. This woman, for all her rough edges and brash swagger, was just as wounded as she was.
Grief, it seemed, spared no one.
‘But weren’t you nervous? About coming out here on your own?’ Olivia asked.
‘Too right I bloody was. Weren’t you?’
‘I don’t think I’ve been anything but
nervous since I arrived here.’ The honesty tasted refreshing on Olivia’s lips.
‘Don’t blame you, kid, but I thought you young’uns were meant to be resilient and up for adventure. An old bag like me can’t stand it if I have to change my washing powder, let alone countries. But the change has been good – kicked me right up the arse, so to speak.’
‘It’s impressive. I can’t imagine my mum getting on a train to Liverpool, let alone a plane to India.’
‘Ah, you say that, but I bet she’s a dark horse at heart.’
‘Hmm. You don’t know my mother.’
The weeping, fearful, closed-off woman Olivia had grown up with sprung to life in her mind’s eye, followed swiftly by the echoing words of her brother.
You’re too hard on Mum and Dad.
‘No, I don’t know her, but I reckon’ – Tracey leant in closer – ‘if she raised a daughter like you, she can’t be anything less than a firecracker.’
Appreciation and, dare Olivia say it, affection began to unfurl at the compliment.
She noted how much lighter her heart felt, and how soothed her soul was from the afternoon with Tracey.
Yes, she was still audacious and brazen, and she wore the most horrific combination of clothing that Olivia had ever seen, but her heart was bigger than all of that, and Olivia felt a tide of gratitude swell in her chest for her new friend.
‘Thank you. Your girls are lucky to have you.’
‘You see, that’s what I’ve been telling them all for years,
but they never listen!’ Tracey threw her head back, letting out an almighty laugh. ‘I’m glad at least someone appreciates my efforts.’
‘I really do,’ she replied earnestly. ‘I didn’t realize how much I needed today, but it’s been lovely, so thank you.’
The edges of Tracey’s cheeks blushed. ‘Ah, get away with you, kid. It was the least I could do.’ She cocked her head and focused her gaze even more intensely on Olivia.
‘You see, I’ve learnt that it’s usually the ones that never ask for help who need it the most. The ones always giving, who need a little giving back to.
The ones who are always fine’ – she gave a sly smile – ‘that are often those most in need of the TWC. Do you know what I mean?’
‘Yeah …’ Olivia felt her heart twist in angst and her eyes prickle with tears. ‘Yeah, I think I do.’
‘Good, because we have to get you fighting fit for the rest of your trip, don’t we?’
Olivia’s eyes found the large, bound itinerary on her bedside. A flicker of panic. A knot in her throat. There was still so much to do
.
‘I think I’m going to need all the strength I can get.’
‘Remind me, what’s on the agenda?’
‘Two more days here and then I go to Jodhpur.’
‘And remind me, where to after that?’
Olivia brought to mind the map of her trip. ‘Udaipur, Hyderabad, Mumbai, then Goa.’
‘Jeez, that’s an action-packed schedule. You’re going to get back to the UK more tired than when you left. At least you have some time down south to relax at the end.’
Relax.
Even the thought of the word triggered prickles of anxiety to erupt across Olivia’s skin.
‘Well, I have quite a few things planned for when I’m there. Lots of churches to see and temples to visit.’
‘I knew it.’ Tracey slapped her hands down on the bed. ‘I knew you were one of those.’
‘One of what?’
‘The doers.’ She smiled as though uncovering a great mystery. ‘Knew it the second I saw you. My Jen is the same. Can’t sit still for love nor money. Always on the go, planning this, controlling that, organizing someone to do something. Non-stop, she is.’
‘You say it like it’s a bad thing.’
‘Not bad, just exhausting. Don’t you get tired of trying to hold everything together all of the time?’
‘Rather than what? Going around letting things just happen
?’ Olivia could feel her defences locking into position, armouring her ready for battle. ‘No direction. No decisions. No responsibility to do anything.’
Like Jacob and his silly dice.
‘Woah there, kid, there’s no need to get yourself worked up. I didn’t mean to cause offence.’
‘I’m not offended.’
‘You sound offended.’
‘I’m not.
I’m just sick of people thinking life works like we’re in some kind of fairy tale or movie.’ The agitation instantly switched to sadness. Tears filled her eyes and her voice began to quiver. ‘It’s all well and good saying everyone should just go with the flow, but some things … some situations
’ – her throat was constricting with every sound she made – ‘need
someone to take control.’
Tracey fixed her with a curious expression, and after a brief silence nodded in recognition.
‘I see.’
‘You see what?’
‘I see where it comes from now.’
Olivia was about to snap back when Tracey continued, her words silencing her immediately.